when is it ok to put pullets on laying feed?

[woodmort]

Quote:
You don't need to unless you add pullets.

 

[Kittymomma]

I like it simple--ok, I NEED it simple so I keep them all on gamebird with oystershell freechoice. It works well for chicks, teens, hens, roos, ducks, turkeys, and the lone peachick. They all freerange so I don't think I could do seperate feeds for the different groups even if I wanted too.

 

[Pine Grove]

Actually the higher % calcium feeds are no more harmful than feeds containing more protein than what is needed for each stage of growth..just more emphasis is put on calcium it seems..As long as water is provided rarely will there be a problem with either..

 

[digitS']

The veterinarians at DeKalb Poultry report on health problems juvenile birds experience given a laying hen's diet.

One case resulted in a doubling of expected mortality throughout the life of flock.

In other cases, "the urolithiasis morality occurs immediately and can be very high, up to 1% per week." So, they could have said that if you have 100 pullets, you can expect to lose as many as 10 each week by giving laying feed too early.

I have a hard time imagining a "higher than needed" protein diet having those results.

Steve

 

[gryeyes]

I keep everybody older than 8 weeks on grower/finisher feed, and keep crushed oyster shell out free choice, all the time. Too many different ages of birds and they all free range and eat from the same feeders.

 

[HeritageHens]

digitS' :

... "the urolithiasis morality occurs immediately and can be very high, up to 1% per week." So, they could have said that if you have 100 pullets, you can expect to lose as many as 10 each week by giving laying feed too early.

Ummm, Steve, 1% is 1 per week, not 10 per week.

 

[Jx2inNC]

My chickens are all on the same feed, after about the 10 week range.
I've seen nothing but great results. The feed I use may not be the highest in calcium out there, but it still has an ample percentage.

 

[gritsar]

I put mine on layer feed when I get my first egg. With the adult birds I have now that was at 19 weeks, with my juveniles it was 18 weeks. When my hens are molting they don't visit the oyster shell pile. It's as simple as that.
Every feed bag I have ever read says to start layer feed at 18 to 20 weeks. There's nothing on the bag about switching them back to a grower or other food if they are molting, etc. Why do you think the feed manufacturers would recommend it if it wasn't the sensible thing to do? It's not so they can make more money off of the layer feed. Here, layer feed is the least expensive of all the chicken feed available. It's not so your chickens will die off from getting the layer; then they wouldn't be selling you any feed at all.
Layer feed has a low percentage of calcium as it is (again, going by what's available here) - 3 to 4%. Nearly all living creatures need some calcium in their diet, regardless of whether they lay eggs or not. In humans at least calcium is necessary for contracting muscles, forming and strengthening bones, conducting nerve impulses throughout the body, clotting blood, maintaining a normal heartbeat, as well as other important processes.
So, I keep it simple. I feed a starter/grower until 8 weeks, then a grower, then layer feed when they start to lay eggs. I have two very healthy flocks; including some CX rescues that were to be culled at 3 weeks old for not growing fast enough.

Before you hit me with all kinds of studies concerning commercial flock practices, let me tell you that I'm not interested. What I am interested in is keeping my flocks in a way that is as far removed from commercial practices as possible. My birds free range all day, have a safe, dry coop at night and layer feed available in their feeders whenever they want it.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Here is a quote from Buckeye Feed -
Quote:
http://www.buckeyenutrition.com/media/137715/17_pct_complete laying crumbles.pdf

Laying feed is designed for hens in production...
Most bags of feed will say feed to Laying Hens that would be a hen that is laying eggs.
If a hen stops laying eggs for what ever reason it is no longer a "laying hen" but just a hen.


Chris

 

[gritsar]

I'm not going to get into a debate. Having just lost my favorite hen I'm really not in the mood for it.
I did want to note that those instructions also say "The birds will require 14 to 16 hours of
light to reach normal egg production. Do not allow the lights to be on continuously so as to cause
excessive stress on the birds".
Adding light is something else I don't do, not keeping my hens solely because they lay eggs. They are cherished pets, with benefits.